An engaging lesson presentation (16 slides) which looks at the surface area to volume ratio and ensures that students can explain why this factor is so important to the organisation of living organisms. This is a topic which is generally poorly misunderstood by students and therefore time has been taken to design an engaging lesson which highlights the key points in order to encourage greater understanding. The lesson begins by showing students the dimensions of a cube and two answers and challenges them to work out what the questions were that produced these answers. Students are shown how to calculate the surface area and the volume of an object before it is explained how this can then be turned into a ratio. Time is taken at this point to ensure that students can apply this new-found knowledge as they have to work out which of the three organisms in the “SA: V OLYMPICS” would stand aloft the podium. Students are given the opportunity to draw conclusions from this task so that they can recognise that the larger the organism, the lower the surface area to volume ratio. The lesson finishes by explaining how larger organisms, like humans, have adapted in order to increase the surface area at important exchange surfaces in their bodies. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but is perfectly suitable for A-level students who want to look at this topic from a basic level

An engaging lesson presentation (72 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit B6 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification. The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Sexual and asexual reproduction DNA structure Genetic inheritance and disorders Sex determination Variation Genetic engineering Resistant bacteria Classification of living organisms Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like "From Numbers 2 LETTERS" and "This shouldn't be too TAXing" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

This is a fully-resourced REVISION lesson that consists of an engaging PowerPoint (121 slides) and associated worksheets that challenge the students on their knowledge of topics B5 - B7 (Homeostasis and response, Inheritance, variation and evolution and Ecology) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy specification and can be assessed on PAPER 2. A wide range of activities have been written into the lesson to maintain motivation and these tasks include exam questions (with answers), understanding checks, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions. The lesson has been designed to include as much which of the content that can be assessed in paper, but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention: The structure of DNA Genetic terminology Inheritance crosses Sex determination IVF The structure of the nervous system Reflexes Type I and II Diabetes The main steps in the process of genetic engineering Antibiotic resistance Evolution by natural selection Ecological terms The carbon cycle The mathematic elements of the Combined Science specification are challenged throughout the resource. Due to the size of this resource, it is likely that teachers will choose to use it over the course of a number of lessons and it is suitable for use in the lead up to the mocks or in the lead up to the actual GCSE exams.

A concise lesson presentation (19 slides) and associated worksheet (newspaper articles) that introduces students to the process of homeostasis in the human body and the three main factors (water potential, blood glucose, temperature) that are controlled by this system. The lesson begins by getting the students to work out a code to give them an exemplary definition for homeostasis. A newspaper article is used to get the students to recognise the three factors that are controlled. A quick competition is used to show the students the main parts of any homeostatic control system. This lesson is designed for GCSE students but could be used with both KS3 and A-level as a quick recap

An engaging lesson presentation (35 slides) that looks at the different physical and chemical defences that plants use to prevent infection by pathogens. There are clear links made between this topic and earlier plant topics, such as structure of plant cells and leaves, to check that knowledge is sound. Students will learn some examples of the chemical defences and be introduced to specific examples in plants. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students and includes a set homework as part of the lesson.

This is an extensive and fully-resourced lesson that guides students through drawing genetic diagrams to show the inheritance of one or two genes in order to calculate the phenotypic ratio. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover the part of module 6.1.2 (b[i]) which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of the patterns for both monogenic and dihybrid inheritance As you can see from the cover image, this lesson uses a step by step guide to go through each important stage of drawing the genetic cross. Extra time is taken over step 2 which involves writing out the different possible gametes that a parent can produce. This is the step where students most commonly make mistakes so it is critical that the method is understood. Helpful hints are also given throughout, such as only writing out the different possible gametes in order to avoid creating unnecessary work. Students are shown how to answer an example question so that they can visualise how to set out their work before they are challenged to try two further questions. This first of these is differentiated so that even those students who find this very difficult are able to access the learning. The final question will enable the students to come up with the ratio 9:3:3:1 and they will be shown how they can recognise when this should be the expected ratio as this links to the chi-squared test.

A fully-resourced lesson which is designed for GCSE students and includes an informative lesson presentation (29 slides) and question worksheets. This lesson explores the theory of evolution by natural selection. The lesson begins with a fun challenge which gets students to come up with the name Charles Darwin but also the phrase “survival of the fittest”. The main focus of the next part of the lesson is to take students through this tag line, adding detail and keywords which they will be able to use in their answers later in the lessons. Students are continually encouraged to discuss key questions on this topic, such as “are all mutations harmful”? They will recognise how these random changes in DNA can lead to advantageous phenotypes and how this can convey a survival edge to organisms. Moving forwards, students are guided through the well-known example of the peppered moths in order to show them to how to use variation, advantage, survival, reproduction and offspring in their answers on this topic. The remainder of the lesson involves students testing their new-found knowledge as they have to apply it to explain how resistance in bacteria and longer necks in giraffes have evolved. Progress checks are written into this lesson at regular intervals so that students can constantly assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be immediately addressed.

This is a fully-resourced lesson which introduces gene mutations and then explores how these base changes affect the primary structure of a polypeptide. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to understand how base substitutions and base deletions change the base sequence and describe how this affects the polypeptide. In order to understand how a change in the base sequence can affect the order of the amino acids, students must be confident in their understanding and application of protein synthesis which was taught in 4.2. Therefore, the start of the lesson focuses on transcription and translation and students are guided through the use of the codon table to identify amino acids. Moving forwards, a quick quiz competition is used to introduce the names of three types of gene mutation whilst challenging the students to recognise terms which are associated with the genetic code and were met in the previous lesson. The main focus of the lesson is base substitutions and how these mutations may or may not cause a change to the amino acid sequence. The students are challenged to use their knowledge of the degenerate nature of the genetic code to explain how a silent mutation can result. The rest of the lesson looks at base deletions and base insertions and students are introduced to the idea of a frameshift mutation. One particular task challenges the students to evaluate the statement that base deletions have a bigger impact on primary structure than base substitutions. This is a differentiated task and they have to compare the fact that the reading frame is shifted by a deletion against the change in a single base by a substitution.

A considerable amount of time and thought has been put into the design of this extensive resource with the aim of motivating students to evaluate their understanding of the content in modules 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which can be assessed in PAPER 2 (Biological diversity). The resource includes a detailed and engaging Powerpoint (226 slides) and is fully-resourced with differentiated worksheets that challenge the students on a wide range of topics. The resource has been written to include different types of activities such as exam questions with explained answers, understanding checks and quiz competitions. The aim was to cover as much of the specification content as possible but the following topics have been given particular attention: Genetic terminology Monogenic and dihybrid inheritance Hardy-Weinberg principle Sex-linked diseases Blood clotting The properties of water Codominance and multiple alleles Types of variation Communicable diseases Genetically engineering bacteria to produce insulin Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance Vaccinations Ecological terminology Classification hierachy The genetic code and gene mutations Chi-squared test Epistasis Sampling Selection pressures and types of selection The Carbon cycle Due to the size of the resource and the range of topics that are covered, this is likely to be used over the course of a number of lessons and will enable teachers to pinpoint specific areas to spend more time on. The mathematical element of the course is challenged throughout the lesson and helpful hints are provided to support students in structuring their answers. This resource can be used in the lead up to the actual Paper 2 exam or earlier in the course when a particular area of modules 1, 2, 4 or 6 is being studied. I truly hope that this resource helps your students in their aims to achieve their potential grades.

This lesson guides students through the use of the chi-squared test to test the significance of differences between observed and expected results. It is fully-resourced with a detailed PowerPoint and differentiated task worksheets that have been designed to cover point 16.2 (d) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to use this statistical test to determine the significance. The lesson has been written to include a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to carry out the test in small sections. At each step, time is taken to explain any parts which could cause confusion and helpful hints are provided to increase the likelihood of success in exam questions on this topic. Students will understand how to use the phenotypic ratio to calculate the expected numbers and then how to find the critical value in order to compare it against the chi-squared value. A worked example is used to show the working which will be required to access the marks and then the main task challenges the students to apply their knowledge to a series of questions of increasing difficulty.

This engaging and detailed lesson has been written to cover the content of point 5.3.5 (Contraception) as detailed in the AQA GCSE Biology & Combined Science specifications. This is a topic which can be difficult to teach due to the awkwardness of a class or students believing that they already know all of the information without really knowing the detail which is laid out in the specification. With this in mind, a wide range of activities have been included in the lesson to maintain motivation whilst ensuring that this important detail is covered. Students will learn about a range of hormonal and non-hormonal methods including oral contraceptives, progesterone patches, condoms and diaphragms and IUDs. Time is taken to look at alternative methods such as abstaining from sexual intercourse during the times around ovulation and sterilisation. Due to the clear link to the topic of hormones in human reproduction, previous knowledge checks are written into the lesson and challenge the students on their knowledge of FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone. There are also mathematical skills check so that students are prepared for the added mathematical element in this course. This lesson has been written for GCSE-aged students who are studying on the AQA GCSE Biology or Combined Science courses but is suitable for younger students who are looking at contraception in their Science lessons

This fully-resourced lesson explores how the presence of particular alleles at one locus can mask the expression of alleles at a second locus in epistasis. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and associated resources have been designed to cover the part of point 7.1 of the AQA A-level specification which states that students should be able to use fully-labelled genetic diagrams to predict or interpret the results of crosses involving epistasis. This is a topic which students tend to find difficult, and therefore the lesson was written to split the topic into small chunks where examples of dominant, recessive and complimentary epistasis are considered, discussed at length and then explained. Understanding checks, in various forms, are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their progress and any misconceptions are immediately addressed. There are regular links to related topics such as dihybrid inheritance so that students can meet the challenge of interpreting genotypes as well as recognising the different types of epistasis. The lesson has been designed to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on the topic of inheritance (7.1), so if you like the quality of this lesson please take a moment to look at these too

This revision lesson contains an engaging and detailed powerpoint (58 slides) which is reinforced with a series of differentiated worksheets that are used throughout the lesson to challenge and consolidate the learning. The lesson has been designed to contain a wide range of activities so that students remain motivated and engaged whilst they assess their understanding of the content found in topic 3 (Infection and response) of the AQA GCSE Biology specification and will be covered in Paper 1 in the terminal GCSE exams. The exam questions, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions found within the lesson challenge the following specification topics: Communicable (infectious) diseases Viral diseases Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Protist diseases Physical defences of the Human defence system Vaccinations Antibiotics Producing monoclonal antibodies Uses of monoclonal antibodies Identification of plant diseases Plant defence responses Students will be able to use the lesson to identify the areas of the specification that require further attention and this lesson can be used at the end of the topic, in the lead up to the mocks or in the lead up to the actual GCSE exams.

This detailed and engaging lesson describes the movement of water molecules by osmosis and this is explained in terms of water potential. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third part of specification point 2.3 as detailed in the AQA A-level Biology specification and they also describe the impact of solutions of different water potentials on suspended animal and plant cells. It’s likely that students will have used the term concentration in their osmosis definitions at GCSE, so the aim of the starter task is to introduce water potential to allow students to begin to recognise osmosis as the movement of water molecules from a high water potential to a lower potential, with the water potential gradient. Time is taken to describe the finer details of water potential to enable students to understand that 0 is the highest value (pure water) and that this becomes negative once solutes are dissolved. Exam-style questions are used throughout the lesson to check on current understanding as well as prior knowledge checks which make links to previously covered topics such as the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the movement of water when animal and plant cells are suspended in hypotonic, hypertonic or isotonic solutions and the final appearance of these cells is described, including any issues this may cause. This lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the previous two lessons in topic 2.3 that cover the cell membrane and diffusion as well as an upcoming lesson on active transport and co-transport.

This is a highly-detailed revision resource which has been designed to be used over a number of lessons and allows teachers to dip in and out of the material as fits to the requirements of their classes and students. The resource consists of an engaging and detailed powerpoint (133 slides) and worksheets which have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to be challenged and access the work. The lesson consists of a wide range of activities which will engage and motivate the students and includes exam questions, quiz competitions and quick tasks. The mathematical element of the course is challenged throughout the lesson The lesson has been designed to cover as many of the sub-topics within topics 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification, and will be covered in paper 1, but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention: Topic B1: Cell biology Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells Cell specialisation Organelles in animal and plant cells Osmosis Mitosis and the cell cycle Microscopy and calculating size Topic B2: Organisation The functions of the components of blood The heart and blood vessels CHD Topic B3: Infection and response Communicable diseases Monoclonal antibodies Topic B4: Bioenergetics Aerobic respiration and ATP Lactic acid This revision resource can be used in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams and due to its size, it could be repeatably used to ensure that students develop a deep understanding of these topics.

This fully-resourced lesson explores how pyruvate can be converted to lactate or ethanol using reduced NAD and that the reoxidation of the coenzyme allows glycolysis to continue. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying differentiated resources have been designed to cover the third part of point 5.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should know the fate of pyruvate if respiration is only anaerobic. The lesson begins with a focus on the coenzyme, NAD, and students are challenged to recall details of its role in the oxidation of triose phosphate. Students will learn that oxidative phosphorylation in aerobic respiration allows these coenzymes to be reoxidised but that another metabolic pathway has to operate when there is no oxygen. Time is taken to go through the lactate and ethanol fermentation pathways and students are encouraged to discuss the conversions before applying their knowledge to complete diagrams and passages about the pathways. Understanding checks in a range of forms are used to enable the students to assess their progress whilst prior knowledge checks allow them to recognise the links to earlier topics. This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lesson on glycolysis

This is an engaging and fully-resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content within topic 3 (Genetics) of the Edexcel GCSE Biology 9-1 specification. The specification points that are covered in this revision lesson include: Explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction, including the lack of need to find a mate, a rapid reproductive cycle, but no variation in the population Explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of sexual reproduction, including variation in the population, but the requirement to find a mate Explain the role of meiotic cell division, including the production of four daughter cells, each with half the number of chromosomes, and that this results in the formation of genetically different haploid gametes Describe the structure of DNA Describe the genome as the entire DNA of an organism and a gene as a section of a DNA molecule that codes for a specific protein Explain how the order of bases in a section of DNA decides the order of amino acids in the protein and that these fold to produce specifically shaped proteins such as enzymes Describe the stages of protein synthesis, including transcription and translation Describe how genetic variants in the coding DNA of a gene can affect phenotype by altering the sequence of amino acids and therefore the activity of the protein produced Explain why there are differences in the inherited characteristics as a result of alleles Explain the terms: chromosome, gene, allele, dominant, recessive, homozygous, heterozygous, genotype, phenotype, gamete and zygote Explain monohybrid inheritance using genetic diagrams, Punnett squares and family pedigrees Describe how the sex of offspring is determined at fertilisation, using genetic diagrams Calculate and analyse outcomes (using probabilities, ratios and percentages) from monohybrid crosses and pedigree analysis for dominant and recessive traits Explain how sex-linked genetic disorders are inherited State that most genetic mutations have no effect on the phenotype The students will thoroughly enjoy the range of activities, which include quiz competitions such as “Is this SYNTHESISED correctly” where they have to recognise whether a passage on protein synthesis is 100% correct or contains errors whilst crucially being able to recognise the areas of this topic which need their further attention. This lesson can be used as revision resource at the end of the topic or in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams.

This fully-resourced lesson guides students through the use of the Hardy-Weinberg equations to determine the frequency of alleles and genotypes in a population. Both the detailed PowerPoint and differentiated practice questions on a worksheet have been designed to cover point 6.1.2 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of the use of the principle to calculate allele frequencies in populations. The lesson begins by looking at the two equations and ensuring that students understand the meaning of each of the terms. The recessive condition, cystic fibrosis, is used as an example so that students can start to apply their knowledge and assess whether they understand which genotypes go with which term. Moving forwards, a step-by-step guide is used to show students how to answer a question. Tips are given during the guide so that common misconceptions and mistakes are addressed immediately. The rest of the lesson gives students the opportunity to apply their knowledge to a set of 3 questions, which have been differentiated so that all abilities are able to access the work and be challenged.

This fully-resourced lesson covers the part of specification point 7.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to use genetic diagrams to interpret the results of crosses involving codominant and multiple alleles. The inheritance of ABO blood groups has three alleles at the gene locus on chromosome 9 where the alleles for A and B are codominant and this is used to introduce the two concepts. A range of tasks challenges the students to write genotypes, and construct genetic diagrams to calculate phenotypic ratios. They have to apply their understanding by working out the blood groups for a number of family members when presented with an incomplete pedigree tree. The final task of the lesson challenges their application skills further but this time, the animals involved are not humans. Each question is followed by a detailed, visual mark scheme so students can assess their progress and address any misconceptions

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 6.1 (Cellular control) of the OCR A-level Biology specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Gene mutations Regulation of gene expression The Lac Operon Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention